"For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you. For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand. Now I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus." (NKJV)
"For our boasting is this . . . we are your boast as you also are ours." In English, there are actually two older English words that are relevant here: glory and vainglory. One of the verbs, "glory," means to exult, jubilate, delight. It is the kind of boasting that is so excited about the victory that has been achieved, particularly when that victory has been accomplished by someone else. Then there is vainglory which is the "excessive pride especially in one’s achievements." (Miriam Webster Dictionary). The Greek word here is kauchesis (Strong’s G2746) which would be "glory" as opposed to "vainglory." Several of the newer translations use "boast," but the KJV uses the word "rejoicing."
There is a real sense here that Paul is excited, even delighted, by what the Lord is doing by His grace, both in his own life and in the lives of the believers. His focus is: "I trust you will understand, even to the end (as also you have understood us in part), that we are your boast as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus." He is saying that nothing matters except that which will matter when we stand before the Throne (the day of the Lord Jesus) and that all that will matter on that day are the lives of the believers, how we lived.
So then, how did Paul live? He describes his life (and the lives of his traveling companions and ministry partners):
• The testimony of their conscience was clear
• They chose to live in simplicity
• They chose to live in godly sincerity
• They chose to live by the grace of God
• They chose to live abundantly for others
The testimony of their conscience was clear
What is a "testimony of conscience?"
What it is not is an emotional response or a response to emotions. Emotions lie to us and the enemy will use our emotions at every turn to deceive us. In the Greek, it is suneidesis (Strong’s G4893), "the soul as distinguishing between what is morally good and bad, prompting to do the former and shun the latter, commending one, condemning the other." The writer of the Hebrews speaks clearly about the conscience:
"For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14 NKJV).
There are two characteristics of those whose consciences are fully developed: (1) They partake of the solid food of the Word, having gone past the "milk" stage where they are still hearing (perhaps over and over again) the very basic doctrines and tenets of the faith; and (2) they have used what they have learned to develop a strong conscience that can discern both good and evil.
There are many Christians who have accepted the Lord as their Savior but have failed to move much further in their spiritual growth. Why? Because they haven’t "exercised their senses to discern good and evil." They are so enamored with the things of this world—pleasure, power, control, entertainment, finances, lusts—that they embrace the "wrong" and repulse the "right."
And Paul goes one further. Paul says that "the testimony of their conscience was clear." It wasn’t just their own consciences, but Paul states that the testimony of their conscience was clear. It was more than their words, but also their actions, their very lives. Paul is saying, "You have seen our lives and you yourselves have witnessed that our consciences are clear." For the Christian, life is much more than "This is what I feel the Lord wants me to do." Our lives must measure up to scripture and that measure must be discernable by other believers.
They chose to live in simplicity
The Greek word is haplotes (Strong’s G572) and has a width of meaning: "1 singleness, simplicity, sincerity, mental honesty. 1a the virtue of one who is free from pretence and hypocrisy. 2 not self seeking, openness of heart manifesting itself by generousity." (Strong’s Enhanced Lexicon).
There are some prevailing characteristics of this life. It is a life that is purposely devoid of inward chaos, singleness of mind and purpose, and generous to all those around. Because Paul’s entire focus in life was on one thing—sharing the gospel—he was able to easily be generous, to easily be honest, to easily be unselfish. He was focused on "today" and "today alone," trusting God to guide and provide for each successive day. He ministered fully to those around him, so any ensuing drama didn’t matter. Paul knew that God loved those around him and his only purpose was to lead them more and more to Christ. "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1 NKJV).
They chose to live in godly sincerity
Lots of people are sincere about a lot of things . . . today, but then tomorrow comes and the circumstances change and you can’t count on them to do what they had promised they would do. Marriages based on "until death do us part" are dissolved because the marriage partners no longer hold those vows to be compelling on their actions. They "fall out of love" or "grow apart" and suddenly the marriage is no more. People promise to do this or that but then life comes crashing in and they renege (or even worse, simply disappear). They were all sincere at the time, but their sincerity failed to deliver in the long haul.
Paul chose to live with godly sincerity. That is, what he said was what he would do. He was who he said he was and was transparent and honest in all dealings.
They chose to live by the grace of God
Grace is more than is often taught. Charis (Strong’s G5485) is "the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." Divine influence and life reflection. What God says, we do. That’s grace! And not only do we do it, but we do it through the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father knows that we cannot please Him on our own, so He has given us the Holy Spirit who empowers us to reflect His own influence in our behavior and choices.
Paul says that they "conducted" themselves by the grace of God. There is a real sense of "choice" in that word. It is anastrepho (Strong’s 390) and "frequently denotes to behave oneself, to life a certain manner of life." In fact, Paul compares it with "with fleshly wisdom." When we choose based on our emotions or on what seems best to us, we are living with fleshly wisdom. When we choose based on the scriptures, we are living according to the grace of God.
They chose to live abundantly for others
There is a very dangerous doctrine that has permeated the Church and that is the doctrine that I must love myself before I can love anyone else, that I must take care of myself, that I must make time for myself, that I . . . I . . . I. There is nowhere in scripture where it tells us to take care of ourselves. Quite the contrary, we are commanded to consider others as better than ourselves:
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV).
Paul chose to live that way, living abundantly for others. He says even "more abundantly toward you." The emphasis was always on giving, giving, giving and not worrying about himself. Paul knew that God would take of him (and who better?) and so, Paul could focus on living abundantly for others, doing whatever it would take to compel them to follow Jesus even more each day.
Paul ends by saying that "we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand." In other words, there is no hidden agenda in his words. What he says is exactly what he means.
There is so much here that can influence our lives. We can live with more simplicity, with more sincerity, with more abundance toward others. We can live in the grace of God, following His commands through the power of the Holy Spirit. We can live so that the testimony of our lives is clearly seen by others who will attest that our consciences always followed the will of the Father. We can do all this. Today, how will we choose to live?
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All rights reserved. Permission granted for nonprofit and church groups to use this article in its entirety (including this notice). For other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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